Thailand

Muangthong United coach refuses giving up title chase after disappointing draw to Sisaket

Muangthong United’s title chase suffered a blow after an unexpected 2-2 draw to relegation contenders Sisaket FC on Sunday.

As table-toppers Buriram United thrashed bottom-placed Super Power 7-2 at the same time, the defending champions have now fallen six points behind their arch rivals.

However, Muangthong head coach Totchtawan Sripan denied that their hopes of retaining the title had been over.

“It was difficult to control the ball because the pitch was very wet and we played under the rain for almost the whole match,” he said, as quoted by Bangkok Post.

“We mainly used long balls and made a lot of mistakes. Given the conditions, a draw was always on the cards.

“However, we are not giving up the title chase and we will try to gain points from our remaining matches.

“We will have to focus ourselves more. Most importantly we would have to limit our mistakes as these have been costing us valuable points.

“We cannot afford to let the gap between us and Buriram grow any bigger.”

Thailand’s top-flight league will take a one-month break after this weekend’s round as the national U22 team competes at SEA Games in Malaysia.

The Thai League 1 rivalries will resume on September 10.